Gina Rodriguez Believes Women Need to Be Paid What They Deserve

Gina Rodriguez teamed up with Luna, the first nutrition bar that caters to women, for their Equal Pay Day initiative. As we all know, Equal Pay Day is April 4th, which helps raise awareness for the 20% gender pay wage gap that women face.

As part of the initiative, Luna is giving a 20% discount to represent the 20% gap in gender pay, donating up to $100,000 to the American Association of University Women (AAUW). “But it’s more than about money. It’s about this idea that there should be equality based on merit, not based on gender, or culture, or race. If you are the best person for the job, you should get paid the way anyone in that position would get paid,” said Gina Rodriguez to Latina magazine.

This is a change that needs to happen, by starting a conversation. “It’s something that I have been working on for a long time because as a Latina female that grew up in the hood, you’re so appreciative to get out and you’re like, ‘Oh my god! I graduated college. I’m one of the small statistics to graduate college. Now I’m super excited.’ Then you go on to accomplishing your dreams and you think, ‘Wait! Am I going to get paid less than a man? Why? Why? Why ever?'”

She feels that it’s more about getting paid what you deserve, what anyone doing that exact same job deserves to be paid, regardless of gender. “I feel like culturally, Latinos are so used to uplifting our men — but we are domesticated that way. It’s like; I got my dad’s back. Oh yeah, my brother wants this. I got you! You know what I’m saying? My man? Oh, I got my man like a rock. And we have yet to learn how important it is for us to support other women, and how we are stronger in numbers.”